The sound of rushing wind came suddenly, and within moments, three figures appeared in the distance. Three men, each bearing a fierce presence and looking strong and well trained, appeared in front of Ling Feng’s group. Their vital energies pulsed like dragons, clearly marking them as formidable opponents.
Initially, the three men noticed three figures up ahead who didn't seem especially powerful and thought to rob them. But upon recognizing Ling Feng's face, their expressions softened immediately.
Ling Feng's battle with the Eleventh Prince of the Tianyang Empire had earned him fame far and wide. He was well-known to almost every genius in the imperial capital of the Tianbai Empire.
"What do you want?" Ling Feng glanced back at them casually, his tone lazy.
The three men felt a chill down their spines under Ling Feng's gaze, realizing how lucky they were not to have attacked.
"General Ling, I am Ding Peng, a direct disciple of the Canglan Sword Sect. My companions here are elite disciples from the sect as well, Jiang Jie and Lu Hong."
The man in the green robe in the middle introduced himself and his companions to Ling Feng.
"Oh," Ling Feng replied indifferently, barely concealing his disinterest.
"Hehe..." Ding Peng felt the awkwardness grow, especially as he had initially approached with high hopes. He forced a smile. "General Ling, since you're entering this ancient ruin as well, why not team up with us?"
Ling Feng raised an eyebrow. "So, we're already in the ancient sect ruins?"
"Uh... General Ling, didn't you know?" Ding Peng was taken aback. He quickly realized that this city of ruins was indeed extremely elusive and was often hidden by fierce sandstorms. Even they hadn't known it was a ruin at first. Only after spotting ancient boundary markers and crumbling buildings did they realize they were in the city of the ancient sect's ruins.
Ling Feng exchanged a brief, wry look with Mu Qianxue. They had spent ages following the map, wandering all over, only to find that these men, of only moderate strength, had beaten them to it.
Sometimes, there's just no arguing with luck!
Ding Peng, seeing Ling Feng's silence, asked again, "General Ling, would you consider joining forces with us?"
"No need," Ling Feng shook his head, smiling. "Why don't you find your opportunities on your own? Farewell!"
Before the three men could respond, Ling Feng's figure shot forward like an arrow, and Tuoba Yan and Mu Qianxue followed close behind. Within seconds, all three had disappeared from view.
"Damn it! Just because he controls the Mystical Yellow Flame, he acts so high and mighty!" Jiang Jie muttered with a cold snort, clearly annoyed.
"Hehe!" Ding Peng glanced sideways at Jiang Jie. "You think you'd have the guts to say that to his face?"
Jiang Jie swallowed hard as sweat beaded on his forehead, and laughed sheepishly. "Uh, no, I was just saying..."
"To find the dragon and divide the gold, one must look at the winding mountain. Each level of winding is a first level of difficulty...."
Muttering to himself, Fatty Huang adjusted the compass in his hands and broke into a loud laugh. "Haha, Young Master Feng, I found it! That eight trigram lock formation was blocking the spirit energy flow, making me miss three times. But this time, I'm certain!"
With a flick of his wrist, Fatty Huang pointed forward, chanting a spell to break the seal. Instantly, the billowing sand around them vanished, revealing a deserted and ruined ancient city.
"See, I knew my dragon-seeking technique wouldn't let us down!" Fatty Huang laughed heartily. "Even if I missed a few times, we're still the first to arrive!"
The woman in the blue robe chuckled softly, "True! With all that fat, you'd make enough lard for two pans!"
"Hmph, Yingying, I've slimmed down a lot already!" Huang Kaixuan[1] patted his belly and shot a playful glare at Lan Yingying[2]. He then turned to Feng Yan, smiling. "Young Master Feng, let's get going. According to the records, the ancient Huangji Sect was a super-sect. Even great emperor experts were mere elders there, so you can imagine how vast and powerful it was! Let's hurry and raid the treasure vaults!"
Feng Yan's eyebrows arched slightly. Although Fatty Huang missed three times earlier, we still found valuable items of considerable quality each time .
While others haven't found this place yet, if we can monopolize the treasure house, Fatty Huang will be the one who deserves the credit.
Ling Feng lifted his gaze, staring at the ruined gate before him. On the crumbling wall, only two of the characters for "Ancient Gate" remained, the third partially destroyed.
"A super-sect from ancient times, yet it fell to such ruin. These Devils from Beyond must be truly terrifying, and the ancient powerhouses strong enough to shatter space itself..."
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes, silently marveling at the thought.
"Now's not the time to be daydreaming." Tuoba Yan strode past him, entering the ruined city.
Ling Feng pursed his lips, moving forward to follow her.
Generally, there were three highly prized areas in an ancient sect.
First, the sect's treasure vault, where all of a sect's most valuable possessions were stored, undoubtedly.
Second, the sect's scripture depository, where high-level cultivation techniques and martial arts were kept, especially ancient techniques, which were rare and of high quality.
Third, the sect's medicinal herb garden, where various rare and miraculous herbs grew. Given how long these ruins had been abandoned, the garden might very well contain rare and ancient treasures.
For an alchemist like Ling Feng, the medicinal herb garden held the greatest value.
After all, the rarer the material, the better he could refine it into high-tier medicinal pills, instantly increasing its worth a hundredfold.
1. Huang "黄" means yellow. Huang Kaixuan was wearing a yellow robe during his first appearance. ☜
2. Lan "蓝" means blue. Lan Yingying was wearing a blue robe during her first appearance. ☜